Section 124D.11 Revenue for a Charter School
124D.11 REVENUE FOR A CHARTER SCHOOL.
Subdivision 1.General education revenue.
(a) General education revenue must be paid to a charter school as though it were a district. The general education revenue for each adjusted marginal cost pupil unit is the state average general education revenue per pupil unit, plus the referendum equalization aid allowance in the pupil's district of residence, minus an amount equal to the product of the formula allowance according to section 126C.10, subdivision 2, times .0485, calculated without basic skills revenue, extended time revenue, alternative teacher compensation revenue, transition revenue, and transportation sparsity revenue, plus basic skills revenue, extended time revenue, basic alternative teacher compensation aid according to section 126C.10, subdivision 34, and transition revenue as though the school were a school district. The general education revenue for each extended time marginal cost pupil unit equals $4,378.
(b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a), for charter schools in the first year of operation, general education revenue shall be computed using the number of adjusted pupil units in the current fiscal year.
Subd. 2.Transportation revenue.
Transportation revenue must be paid to a charter school that provides transportation services according to section 124D.10, subdivision 16, according to this subdivision. Transportation aid shall equal transportation revenue.
In addition to the revenue under subdivision 1, a charter school providing transportation services must receive general education aid equal to the sum of the product of (i) an amount equal to the product of the formula allowance according to section 126C.10, subdivision 2, times .0485, plus the transportation sparsity allowance for the school district in which the charter school is located times (ii) the adjusted marginal cost pupil units, plus the product of $223 times the extended time marginal cost pupil units.
Subd. 3.Use of total operating capital revenue.
Notwithstanding section 126C.10, subdivision 14, a charter school may use total operating capital revenue for any purpose related to the school.
Subd. 4.Building lease aid.
When a charter school finds it economically advantageous to rent or lease a building or land for any instructional purposes and it determines that the total operating capital revenue under section 126C.10, subdivision 13, is insufficient for this purpose, it may apply to the commissioner for building lease aid for this purpose. The commissioner must review and either approve or deny a lease aid application using the following criteria:
(1) the reasonableness of the price based on current market values;
(2) the extent to which the lease conforms to applicable state laws and rules; and
(3) the appropriateness of the proposed lease in the context of the space needs and financial circumstances of the charter school.
A charter school must not use the building lease aid it receives for custodial, maintenance service, utility, or other operating costs. The amount of building lease aid per pupil unit served for a charter school for any year shall not exceed the lesser of (a) 90 percent of the approved cost or (b) the product of the pupil units served for the current school year times the greater of the charter school's building lease aid per pupil unit served for fiscal year 2003, excluding the adjustment under Laws 2002, chapter 392, article 6, section 4, or $1,200.
Subd. 5.Special education aid.
(a) Except as provided in subdivision 2, special education aid must be paid to a charter school according to section 125A.76, as though it were a school district.
(b) For fiscal year 2006, the charter school may charge tuition to the district of residence as follows:
(1) if the charter school does not receive general education revenue on behalf of the student according to subdivision 1, tuition shall be charged as provided in section 125A.11; or
(2) if the charter school receives general education revenue on behalf of the student according to subdivision 1, tuition shall be charged as provided in section 127A.47, subdivision 7, paragraph (d).
(c) For fiscal year 2007 and later, the special education aid paid to the charter school shall be adjusted as follows:
(1) if the charter school does not receive general education revenue on behalf of the student according to subdivision 1, the aid shall be adjusted as provided in section 125A.11; or
(2) if the charter school receives general education revenue on behalf of the student according to subdivision 1, the aid shall be adjusted as provided in section 127A.47, subdivision 7, paragraph (d).
Subd. 6.Other aid, grants, revenue.
(a) A charter school is eligible to receive other aids, grants, and revenue according to chapters 120A to 129C, as though it were a district.
(b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a), a charter school may not receive aid, a grant, or revenue if a levy is required to obtain the money, or if the aid, grant, or revenue replaces levy revenue that is not general education revenue, except as otherwise provided in this section.
(c) Federal aid received by the state must be paid to the school, if it qualifies for the aid as though it were a school district.
(d) A charter school may receive money from any source for capital facilities needs. In the year-end report to the commissioner of education, the charter school shall report the total amount of funds received from grants and other outside sources.
Subd. 7.Use of state money.
Money received from the state may not be used to purchase land or buildings. The school may own land and buildings if obtained through nonstate sources.
Subd. 8.Start-up costs.
During the first two years of a charter school's operation, the charter school is eligible for aid to pay for start-up costs and additional operating costs. Start-up cost aid equals the greater of:
(1) $50,000 per charter school; or
(2) $500 times the charter school's pupil units served for that year.
Subd. 9.Payment of aids to charter schools.
(a) Notwithstanding section 127A.45, subdivision 3, aid payments for the current fiscal year to a charter school shall be of an equal amount on each of the 24 payment dates.
(b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a) and section 127A.45, for a charter school ceasing operation on or prior to June 30 of a school year, for the payment periods occurring after the school ceases serving students, the commissioner shall withhold the estimated state aid owed the school. The charter school board of directors and authorizer must submit to the commissioner a closure plan under chapter 308A or 317A, and financial information about the school's liabilities and assets. After receiving the closure plan, financial information, an audit of pupil counts, documentation of lease expenditures, and monitoring of special education expenditures, the commissioner may release cash withheld and may continue regular payments up to the current year payment percentages if further amounts are owed. If, based on audits and monitoring, the school received state aid in excess of the amount owed, the commissioner shall retain aid withheld sufficient to eliminate the aid overpayment. For a charter school ceasing operations prior to, or at the end of, a school year, notwithstanding section 127A.45, subdivision 3, preliminary final payments may be made after receiving the closure plan, audit of pupil counts, monitoring of special education expenditures, documentation of lease expenditures, and school submission of Uniform Financial Accounting and Reporting Standards (UFARS) financial data for the final year of operation. Final payment may be made upon receipt of audited financial statements under section 123B.77, subdivision 3.
(c) If a charter school fails to comply with the commissioner's directive to return, for cause, federal or state funds administered by the department, the commissioner may withhold an amount of state aid sufficient to satisfy the directive.
(d) If, within the timeline under section 471.425, a charter school fails to pay the state of Minnesota, a school district, intermediate school district, or service cooperative after receiving an undisputed invoice for goods and services, the commissioner may withhold an amount of state aid sufficient to satisfy the claim and shall distribute the withheld aid to the interested state agency, school district, intermediate school district, or service cooperative. An interested state agency, school district, intermediate school district, or education cooperative shall notify the commissioner when a charter school fails to pay an undisputed invoice within 75 business days of when it received the original invoice.
(e) Notwithstanding section 127A.45, subdivision 3, and paragraph (a), 80 percent of the start-up cost aid under subdivision 8 shall be paid within 45 days after the first day of student attendance for that school year.
(f) In order to receive state aid payments under this subdivision, a charter school in its first three years of operation must submit a school calendar in the form and manner requested by the department and a quarterly report to the Department of Education. The report must list each student by grade, show the student's start and end dates, if any, with the charter school, and for any student participating in a learning year program, the report must list the hours and times of learning year activities. The report must be submitted not more than two weeks after the end of the calendar quarter to the department. The department must develop a Web-based reporting form for charter schools to use when submitting enrollment reports. A charter school in its fourth and subsequent year of operation must submit a school calendar and enrollment information to the department in the form and manner requested by the department.
(g) Notwithstanding sections 317A.701 to 317A.791, upon closure of a charter school and satisfaction of creditors, cash and investment balances remaining shall be returned to the state.
History:
1991 c 265 art 9 s 43; 1993 c 224 art 9 s 31; 1994 c 647 art 3 s 11; art 9 s 10; 1Sp1995 c 3 art 8 s 4; 1996 c 412 art 7 s 5-8; 1997 c 7 art 1 s 52; 1Sp1997 c 4 art 2 s 4; art 5 s 13-15; 1998 c 397 art 2 s 89-92,164; art 11 s 3; 1998 c 398 art 1 s 10-13; art 5 s 55; 1999 c 241 art 1 s 2; art 5 s 12-14; 2000 c 254 s 17; 2000 c 489 art 2 s 4; art 6 s 24; 1Sp2001 c 6 art 2 s 27,28; art 8 s 2; 2002 c 374 art 1 s 1; 1Sp2003 c 9 art 2 s 26-29; art 5 s 5; 2004 c 294 art 2 s 14; 1Sp2005 c 5 art 2 s 63-65; art 3 s 5; 2006 c 263 art 2 s 16; 2009 c 96 art 2 s 42